Jan. 31 (Bloomberg) -- MTN Group Ltd.’s Nigerian unit said
it’s experiencing “serious” fiber-cable cuts in the eastern
part of the West African nation that are probably caused by road
construction work.

South Africa-based MTN, which is Nigeria’s biggest mobile-phone operator, has doubled surveillance of the affected areas,
Akinwale Goodluck, a company spokesman, said today in an e-mailed statement. MTN suffers more than 70 cuts a month in
Africa’s biggest oil producer due to vandalism, sabotage and
criminal activities, he said.

“In addition, our fiber maintenance engineers are working
round-the-clock to repair damage as soon as it is detected,”
said Goodluck. “We are working towards an improved experience
on the network very soon.”

The nation’s telecommunications regulator fined Nigeria’s
four main phone companies including MTN a combined 1.17 billion
naira ($7.4 million) in May for failing to meet minimum service
standards.

Service disruptions were also caused by attacks last year
in the north by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram, which
said it’s targeting telecommunications companies because they’re
helping the authorities to track them.